


the night the lights went out in space

by BluebarrieMuzzins



Series: Reese's Biotic Pieces [3]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Carrying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Custom Shepard (Mass Effect), Darkness, Established Relationship, Fluff, Headaches & Migraines, M/M, Outer Space, POV Kaidan Alenko, Reese carries Kaidan to bed, Slow Dancing, Tea, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, idfk how else to tag it, just his name, terms of endearment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29125716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluebarrieMuzzins/pseuds/BluebarrieMuzzins
Summary: Soft music started filtering through the hallways of the Normandy just then. It caught Kaidan and Reese by surprise. Kaidan lifted his head and looked at Reese; all Reese could do was shrug and stand from the couch to go and investigate.After a moment, Kaidan heard Reese’s footsteps return to the room and approach the couch again. Reese sat back down and rubbed Kaidan’s knee.“It sounds like one of the crew is listening to piano music,” Reese said.
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard
Series: Reese's Biotic Pieces [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2136294
Kudos: 7





	the night the lights went out in space

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am again! I said this on one of my other fics and I'll say it here. I'm this close to having a breakdown and writing is helping me cope. So, uh... if you see 30,000 fics from me in the next week and then I go radio silent for the next 70 years, you know why. That being said, I hope you enjoy this! I was still somewhat inspired by the migraine thing, so I came up with this idea and went with it. I hope I did a well enough job. Constructive criticism is always welcome!
> 
> The title is a play on "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Reba McEntire.

Looking out the windows let Kaidan see the galaxy below him. There was nothingness, save for stars and the occasional planet or spaceship; the stars stretched on for miles and miles. Even being as high up in space as he was, he still felt somewhat grounded as if he was back home in his apartment in Vancouver.

Though, that being said, living in space made it hard to sleep most nights. All the silence and the screwed up day/night cycles caused constant migraines (as did his biotic implants) that made falling asleep a hassle.

Tonight was no exception. He was sitting in the Normandy’s common room with all of the lights off in hopes that would calm his mind down enough to get to sleep. The blackness of everything was helping somewhat but his head was still pounding from the sheer silence that surrounded him. Everything felt too quiet and it was driving Kaidan insane. He was drinking a herbal tea that he had snagged from the galley, hoping it would ease some of the pressures in his head. It was helping him a little but the overall feeling of distress was still there.

As he continued to sip the tea and take in the darkness, he heard footsteps walking down the hallway. He didn’t look up from his mug, simply twirling his finger around the rim. The footsteps walked to the couch and he felt someone sit down beside him. An arm was soon slung over him and Kaidan was soon being pulled into a solid body.

“Headache again?” Reese, Kaidan’s boyfriend, asked.

“Yeah,” Kaidan mumbled and nodded, taking another sip of his tea. Kaidan rested the mug on his knee, nuzzling his head into the crook of Reese’s neck. “A pretty nasty one too. That’s why there are no lights on. They were too painful to look at.”

“You could’ve woken me up, Kaidan. I would’ve helped you deal with it.”

“I know, I know. But you’re the commander of this ship. Figured it would be a good idea to let you sleep because you need as much as you can get.”

Reese lifted Kaidan’s head and kissed him. Kaidan smirked into the kiss, bringing his hand up and cupping Reese’s jaw. The two kissed for a few moments before pulling apart and resting their foreheads together.

“What did I do to deserve you?” Reese asked, chuckling softly.

“Joined the Alliance Navy and got assigned to the Normandy for starters.”

Reese scoffed, playfully punching Kaidan in the shoulder. Kaidan smirked, knocking his shoulder back against Reese’s hand. Kaidan took another sip of his tea as he felt Reese lean his head against his shoulder. Smiling, Kaidan dropped his head on top of Reese’s head.

Soft music started filtering through the hallways of the Normandy just then. It caught Kaidan and Reese by surprise. Kaidan lifted his head and looked at Reese; all Reese could do was shrug and stand from the couch to go and investigate.

After a moment, Kaidan heard Reese’s footsteps return to the room and approach the couch again. Reese sat back down and rubbed Kaidan’s knee.

“It sounds like one of the crew is listening to piano music,” Reese said.

Kaidan perked up, placing his mug on the coffee table. He stood from the couch and grabbed Reese’s hand. Kaidan barely saw Reese raise a questioning eyebrow in the darkness but Reese followed when Kaidan guided him through the common room to stand in front of the large windows that overlooked the galaxy. The piano music was a little clearer there which made Kaidan smile.

Kaidan placed his hands on Reese’s waist and instructed Reese to place his hands on Kaidan’s shoulders. Reese smiled and followed Kaidan’s instructions. They swayed happily to the soft piano music, not caring that it was getting close to bunk in time.

As they swayed along, Kaidan saw the kindness in his boyfriend’s eyes; the love; the passion. He saw how much Reese loved him. Kaidan leaned forward and rested his head against Reese’s chest. Reese lifted his hand from Kaidan’s shoulder and ran it through Kaidan’s hair, making sure to stop and massage his boyfriend’s scalp. Kaidan hummed softly, closing his eyes at the feeling. The longer Reese massaged his scalp the more serene and sleepy he was beginning to feel.

Without a warning, Reese scooped Kaidan into his arms and started walking them down the hall toward their cabin. Kaidan wanted to protest, say that he wanted to keep dancing. All that came out of his mouth was a giant yawn. Reese smiled softly as he placed a kiss on Kaidan’s forehead. Kaidan let out a breath and nuzzled his head into Reese’s neck, humming happily.

Once they made it inside their cabin, Kaidan was placed carefully into the bed. Reese placed the covers over his boyfriend, taking care to cover him up so as not to startle him. Reese crawled in behind Kaidan once he double-checked to see that Kaidan was comfortable. He carefully wrapped himself around Kaidan once he was under the covers himself. Kaidan felt a sense of peace wash over him. His headache was finally gone and he was in the arms of the man he loved. Kaidan knew that his headaches sucked and probably always would. He also knew that what came after them never did. Because what came after was getting to fall asleep in the arms of the man he loved. He had done it every day since the Alliance Navy had approved their request of a shared bunk three months ago and he planned to do it until they both left this existence. 

“I love you, Reese’s Pieces,” Kaidan mumbled, voice slurred from how tired he was.

“I love you, too, Apple Cider,” Reese said, pressing a soft kiss to the nape of Kaidan’s neck.

Kaidan hummed, smiling. He had a million happy thoughts of his future with Reese in his head as he drifted off to sleep shortly after that, Reese still wrapped tightly around him.

**Author's Note:**

> Not me having Reese call Kaidan as "Apple Cider" because I remembered that Kaidan's parents retired to an orchard in British Columbia. What are you on about?
> 
> Also: I was gonna have him call Kaidan as "Maple Syrup". But like. I felt like that would've been too stereotypical. Even for my Canadian ass.


End file.
